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Insurance — Automobile — Coverage — Escape clause — Multiple policies providing similar coverage — Action arising from fatal automobile accident in which volunteer employee of non-profit corporation was operating vehicle at fault — Trial court did not err by finding that insurer who provided personal vehicle insurance coverage to volunteer employee for bodily injury and property damage also insured corporation — Plain language of volunteer employee’s policy reflects that employee’s insurer did insure corporation where there was no dispute that corporation incurred liability due to the action of its volunteer employee, and volunteer employee’s policy expressly covers a “person or organization” which incurs liability because of the “acts or omissions of an insured” — Fact that volunteer employee’s policy had already exhausted the policy limit by providing coverage to volunteer employee does not determine whether the incident was covered under the policy — While volunteer employee’s policy contains an exclusion to coverage for bodily injury and property damage arising out of the use of any vehicle “while being used to carry persons or property for compensation or a fee,” there was no evidence that volunteer employee was being compensated — Court rejects argument that escape clause in corporation’s policy, which limited coverage to circumstances where corporation did not have other insurance available which afforded the “same or similar coverage,” was inapplicable because one of the policies is a personal policy and one is commercial, and because the policies have different policy limits — Coverage afforded to accident by the policies is at least similar, if not the same, whereby both policies cover property damage and bodily injury and even use the exact same wording — The word “similar” as used in corporation’s policy was not ambiguous — Corporation’s policy’s excess clause, which applies when another insurance company pays out for the same liability but their payment is less than the policy limit of corporation’s policy, is not inconsistent with escape clause — Clauses can co-exist because they are triggered by distinct circumstances

46 Fla. L. Weekly D734a ROXANNE WALLS and SKYLER THOMAS, as co-personal representatives of the Estate of Rachel Walls, Appellants, v. SOUTHERN OWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY, an out of state corporation, Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D20-1422. March 31, 2021. On appeal from the Circuit Court for Holmes County. Timothy Register, Judge. Counsel: Theodore R. Howell […]

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Insurance — Homeowners — Water damage — Denial of coverage — Concealment or fraud — Trial court did not err by entering final summary judgment in favor of insurer on insured’s claim for damage caused by water leak on ground that repair estimate prepared by homeowner’s loss consultant, and adopted by insured in her sworn proof of loss, interrogatory answers, and deposition testimony, included material false statements — When insured relies on or adopts an estimate containing material false statements to support claim, insured is bound by the estimate and cannot avoid application of concealment or fraud provision simply because insured did not prepare the estimate — Insured’s argument that she could not be held responsible for false statements in estimate because she did not intentionally rely on those statements was refuted by record — Moreover, showing of intent was not required under policy’s concealment or fraud provision

46 Fla. L. Weekly D691c JENNIFER MEZADIEU, Appellant, v. SAFEPOINT INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D20-2. March 26, 2021. Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; David A. Haimes, Judge; L.T. Case No. CACE 16-017852 (08). Counsel: Erin M. Berger and Melissa A. Giasi of Giasi Law, P.A., […]

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Insurance — Homeowners — Hurricanes — Water damage — Exclusions — No error in entering summary judgment in favor of insurer on claims for damage from a plumbing leak and a hurricane — Insured’s affidavits and deposition were conclusory and insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to insured’s claim that a hurricane had caused an opening in her roof through which water entered — Trial court did not err in applying water damage exclusion endorsement to insured’s plumbing claim — Exclusion endorsement did not conflict with policy’s specific provisions endorsement and there was no ambiguity in the policy — Both endorsements stated that they replaced the water damage exclusion in the original policy, the first three subsections are virtually identical in each endorsement, and the two additional exclusions in the special provisions endorsement supplement, and do not conflict with, the first three exclusions

46 Fla. L. Weekly D656a DOROTHY ARCHER, Appellant, v. TOWER HILL SIGNATURE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D19-3702. March 24, 2021. Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; Raag Singhal, Judge; L.T. Case No. CACE-18-4463 (21). Counsel: Paul B. Feltman of Alvarez, Feltman, Da Silva & Costa, PL, […]

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Torts — Defamation — Negligent publication — Trial court properly entered summary judgment in favor of defendant where plaintiffs failed to submit competent summary judgment evidence to counter defendant’s affidavit in which defendant denied making the alleged defamatory statements — Although plaintiffs submitted an unsworn letter from an individual who claimed to have been at the meeting where the defamatory statements were allegedly made, the unsworn letter did not constitute summary judgment evidence and was, therefore, properly rejected by the court

46 Fla. L. Weekly D660a CHERI GARBARK, and LEWIS ASSOCIATION PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company, Appellants, v. GARY GAYLE, Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D20-988. March 24, 2021. On appeal from the Circuit Court for Leon County. Angela C. Dempsey, Judge. Counsel: Patrick R. Frank and Keisha D. Rice of Frank & […]

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Torts — Automobile accident — Discovery — Mental health records — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law by entering order requiring production of plaintiff’s mental health records without limitation or in camera inspection to ensure that only relevant information was disclosed connecting the mental health records either in substance or time to the claim at issue — Relief granted without prejudice for trial court to conduct in camera inspection to confirm that records are relevant and timely as to claim at issue

46 Fla. L. Weekly D653a GREGORY ERN, Petitioner, v. JANICE LOU SPRINGER and PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, Respondents. 4th District. Case No. 4D20-2107. March 24, 2021. Petition for writ of certiorari to the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Indian River County; Janet Croom, Judge; L.T. Case No. 31-2019-CA-000815-XXXX. Counsel: Joseph H. Graves and […]

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